Unit 31 - Specialist Location Research - Don McCullin

Don McCullin is a British photojournalist, known internationally especially for his war photography. His career, which started in 1959, examines the underside of society. His photographs show the unemployed and the poor.

McCullin has covered conflicts all over the world, from Vietnam to Northern Ireland. In 1968, his camera actually stopped a bullet intended for him.

For my research, I have looked mainly at some of his portraits and his war photography.

His images are full of character. Although McCullin's photographs are all taken during live combat situations, there are definitely ideas I can take away and use in my own images. Looking at the group of soldiers, I will definitely try and get a photographs of resting soldiers.

Also, although my shoot is that of a reenactment, I'd like to try and get the type of emotions across that McCullin shows in his images. It will be a tough thing to achieve, but worth a try as it will really add to the images.

I really like his work. It's full of character. I think the fact that it was all black and white adds to that. I think he set out to convey the feelings of the people in his photographs and you definitely think you could have a a good idea about the hard lives and tough times his subjects have gone through after looking at his images.

Image Resources:

http://www.joshua-s.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Don-McCullin-Dunhill-Voice-Spring-Summer13.jpg

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Observer/Pix/pictures/2010/2/4/1265294749362/Shellshocked-soldier-006.jpg

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/multimedia/archive/00367/42-31691825_a_367363j.jpg

Unit 23 Research Task - Task 1, 2 and 3

The idea of these tasks is to show the advantages of the portability, and therefore flexibility, of modern camera systems. Unfortunately, we weren't given this task at the time we should've done. This is the reason why, apart from the images for task 3, all my images were taken on my normal DSLR. We should've been given this task on the day we went into the Northern Quarter in Manchester, but unfortunately we didn't get it until we came back to college the week after. But, at least I've still managed to shoot the relevant images.

Task 1

I've decided to use some photographs showing the use of images in posters and record shops.

Task 2

Unfortunately, because we didn't have the brief, I haven't actually got images that would be perfect for this part of the task. However, I do have images of well known music related buildings and shops in Manchester's Northern Quarter.

Task 3

I was hoping to get images related to music, but was unable to do so due to personal reasons. However, I did manage to get this task done with a different subject. The photographs and sounds were taken and recorded on my iPhone 4. I did this in Alexandra Park in Oldham, UK.

Bullet points:

- Woman applies sun cream
- Child runs to mother
- Group of people turn on radio
- Child eats some crisp
- Woman sits down on bench
- Woman calls her child over
- Child runs past

Images:

Sound Recording:

Below is a link to the sound recording I recorded on my iPhone 4. Seeing as I was positioned right next to a big playground, it's mainly the sounds of the children playing.

Sound Recording

Unit 23 - Task 3 and 4 - Shoot Plan

Had a phone call from my friend, asking me whether I'd be interested in a photo shoot. Of course, any opportunity like that is one I take, so we agreed on a time and date. The idea for me was to simply get some experience in the studio. Being a landscape photographer by nature, shooting in the studio is still a rather new thing to me. This was only the second time I was in a studio with a model and the first time without instructions.

So on the day, I went over to the studio. The gear I had at my disposal consisted of the following:

• Canon 550D DSLR
• Canon EF-S 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6 IS Lens
• Canon EF 70-300mm USM Lens
• Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 Mk II
• Several other things such as filters, wireless triggers etc.

There are a few reasons as to why I shoot on digital and not on film. Although in some instances, the grain and noise of film can be nice, overall I prefer the crispness of digital. Also, digital is more versatile, because the sensors are far more sensitive compared to film. This means digital cameras can handle low light situations a lot better. Add to all this the fact that film is quite expensive, the fact that I can see straight away what I shot and the fact that I can go home and edit my images on my laptop rather easily compared to having to go into a darkroom and it becomes quite clear that there are several advantages to shooting with digital. Don't get me wrong tho, I can see why some people would prefer film. It can really add to the feel of photographs sometimes. But a lot of these things can now also be achieved by using Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom.

When it comes to the pricing, the actual structure was rather simple in this case. The model came and posed for us and we offered her the images on a disc. This is known as Time For Print (TFP) or Time For Disc (TFD). This meant that when it comes to the target audience for this shoot, it's mainly about the model and myself. She might want images for any portfolio she might be creating and I need the experience and images for possible portfolios. Normally, I'd charge people for the type of shoot they want. Hourly rates, day rates, it all depends on the type of shoot. To figure out an hourly rate, it's important to keep in mind your fixed costs, taxes and, of course, how much profit you're wanting to make not only on that shoot, but also over a year. But in this case, there was no money involved. It was simply a shoot for fun and experience for both parties involved.

Ok, so on to a couple of my shots. Here is the lighting diagram of the studio setup.

The following are some test shots. As it was a very tiny studio, with quite a low ceiling, it was quite hard at first to get Angela in the frame without the frame being filled with unwanted things. As you can see, the background roll kept creeping into view here.

To avoid this, I decided to get myself up on a higher platform, giving me a higher viewpoint and therefore I was shooting slightly down. This way, I managed to avoid the roll in the background without it seeming as tho I was shooting from a long way up. This was also the reason behind my focal length choice. The following shots are taken after this small and simple adjustment and, in my opinion, are much better without background clutter.

Aperture: f5.6,
Shutter Speed: 1/125
Focal Length: 50mm

Aperture: f5.6,
Shutter Speed: 1/125
Focal Length: 50mm

Aperture: f5.6,
Shutter Speed: 1/125
Focal Length: 32mm

Aperture: f5.6,
Shutter Speed: 1/125
Focal Length: 23mm

Aperture: f5.6,
Shutter Speed: 1/125
Focal Length: 23mm

Aperture: f5.6,
Shutter Speed: 1/125
Focal Length: 48mm

The images are quite decent, to say I only went into the studio to gain a little bit of experience and to try and get used to working studio equipment such as lighting etc. on my own. Are there things I would improve? I think, overall, my  knowledge of the studio is only just developing. There's so much to learn, so much equipment used in different situations. My main issue in this situation was the fact that I hadn't been in situations with models before. This meant I was unaware how to deal with the situation and how to interact properly. In other words, I was a quiet, shy little boy. It was only towards the end that I started getting a bit more confident. So that's something I would improve next time, now that I know what it is like. Another thing is experimenting more with different settings, such as light settings and types of light. However, part of this shoot was nude and not suitable for posting here. Those shots were done in low key. Also, I'd probably try different viewpoints and making the shots overall look a bit more attractive. I have to learn about poses and things like that, because it's important that you know what to ask of your model. The lighting is nice and so is the composition, I think. Perhaps if the studio was bigger with a higher ceiling I would've been able to do more. If I'm honest, I'm quite pleased with the overall result, but will definitely keep pushing myself for better results each time.

Unit 23 - Task 2 - Health and Safety

COSHH

COSHH (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations) was put in place to ensure companies comply with the regulations and where necessary, they take action. Employers are supposed to do the following:

• Check whether chemical substances could be dangerous and pose a risk to health and see what could be done to control it. For example, labels on containers etc.
• Enforce the rules they create, making sure employees abide by them.
• Be sure the rules do their job and work properly.
• Make sure employees are aware of any risks to their health and are well informed.
• Give the employees proper training, so they can deal with any issues.

Provisions and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER)

PUWER was put in place to ensure companies comply with the regulations in regard to work equipment. Meaning companies have to make sure equipment is safe to use, whether they own it or not. They have to do the following things:

• Make sure equipment is suitable for use.
• Make sure equipment is safe to use, maintained properly and is inspected to check whether it's installed correctly and doesn't deteriorate.
• Make sure equipment is only used by people with the correct training, information and instruction.
• Make sure equipment comes with suitable health and safety measures. This means it should come with the right protective gear and controls, ranging from emergency stops to proper isolation and protection from sources of energy. They also need to ensure things are clearly marked and warning devices are in place.
• Make sure equipment is used according to specific requirements. This counts for mobile work equipment and power presses. They have another set of health and safety legislation in addition to PUWER that they have to comply with. An example would be lifting equipment with its LOLER regulations.

Display Screen Equipment

People working with a VDU (Visual Display Unit) have to take care that there are no risks attached. VDU, VDT, Monitor and DSE all mean the same thing: A display screen.

VDUs are often wrongly accused for causing a wide range of health problems to its users. However, these problems can often be avoided by designing your workplace and job the right way and using your workstation and VDU correctly.

Aches are often caused by screenglare, poor image quality, the need for different spectacles, stress from the pace of work, anxiety about new technology, not taking regular breaks, poor posture or a combination of any of these.

Employers should analyse the workstations. Assess the risks and reduce the risks. They're supposed to look at the full workstation. This includes the equipment, furniture and the work environment. They should also look at the work that's being done and make sure each individual staff member's special needs are fulfilled.

Employees can look at making sure they're comfortable, meaning the position of their chair is right, the position of their screen is right etc. They need to make sure the equipment they use is right for them, such as the mouse and keyboard, and make sure they're in the correct position for them.

Risk Assessments

Risk assessments make people think about what risks are attached to, for example, a photo shoot. They can then do their best to prevent them or minimise them. Risk assessments follow the following basic principles:

1. Identify risks.
2. Decide who might be harmed.
3. Evaluate the risks and decide on precautions.
4. Record findings and implement precautions.
5. Review the assessment and update if necessary.

Here are my risk assessments for 3 past briefs.

Risk Assessment #1 - Exterior Brief

Assessment #2 - Studio Brief

Assessment #3 - Interior Brief

Unit 23 - Task 1 - Large Format

Large Format refers to film or the cameras that use film larger than 4x5 inches (102×127 mm).

The advantage is that a Large Format image has an area 16 times the size of standard 35mm, thus containing 16 times the resolution of a standard 35mm. This means Large Format images are of a much higher resolution and often contain much more detail.

Old Large Format Camera

They're often used for images that have to be enlarged to a high magnification while still requiring a high level of detail.

Large Format Film

An example of a photographer who used to use large format on a regular basis is Ansel Adams. Because of his big landscapes, he used large format regularly so he was able to develop his prints with these high levels of detail.

Unit 23 - Task 1 - Colour Negative

A negative is a strip of plastic film, on which the darkest areas are lightest and the lightest areas are darkest. They're an inverted version of a black and white image.

A colour negative works on the same principle, where the colours are converted into their respective complementary colours.

35mm Colour Negative Film

Colour negative film usually has a dull orange tint to it, because of a colour-masking feature within the film.

Colour negative film is the most commonly known film. Everyone will most likely have used it or at least heard of it. In the days before digital photography, colour negative film was available to use in your professional camera, but it was also integrated in those cheap 'throw away' cameras designed for one time use. You would then simply hand in the camera at the shop and they would develop the film.

Above is an image that I shot 17 years ago with my 'old' Canon camera on 35mm colour negative film, whilst on holiday in the United States of America.

Personally, I think that shooting on film is a skill. It makes you think. Nowadays, the camera does almost everything for you and all you have to do is press a button. The only thing you have to think about is composition. Don't get me wrong, when I took this image there were already 'Auto' modes and things that made life easier for the amateur photographer. If I was to take that image again with the knowledge I have now, I wouldn't use those. I would do it the manual way.

Even though this images was taken when I was 15 years old and without any photographic skills at all, it's clear what differences there are in image quality compared to digital photography. The film image is not as crisp. Perhaps it's because of my age, but digital photography has my preference. I prefer the sharpness in images.

Unit 23 - Task 1 - Colour Transparancy

This type of film produces transparancies or diapositives (called diafilm in a lot of places). The film can then be used with a slide projector. In our task, we used a medium format film in combination with a Hasseblad camera.

We were asked to produce images inspired by Andres Serrano.

These resulting images are in the hands of my tutor.

Unit 23 - Task 1 - Different Paper, Different Result...

Today we discussed paper types. In order to do so, we had a whole bunch of different types of paper with identical prints on them. We did so for colour print and black and white print.

• Photo Rag 308 gsm
• Bamboo 290 gsm
• Photo Rag Pearl 320 gsm
• Normal A4 paper
• Baryta FB 350 gsm
• Photo Rag Satin 310 gsm
• Leonardo Canvas 390 gsm
• FineArt Baryta 325 gsm
• Photo Rag Book & Album 220 gsm
• Photo Rag Baryta 315 gsm
• Photo Rag Bright White 310 gsm
• Photo Rag Ultra Smooth 305 gsm 
• Rice Paper

Now when you put all these different types of papers together, you'll notice big differences between every single one of them. For example, looking at the Leonardo Canvas, there's a lot of detail lost in the prints and the canvas is very floppy. And although there's a lot of detail lost in the colour print, it's a lot better than the same print done in black and white. Put that next to the Photo Rag Baryta and the difference is clear. It's much stiffer paper with great detail, colours and the whites really stand out.

The Rice Paper is very thin and has a strange yellow colour. The Photo Rag Bright White and some others have no reflections when in the sun. The Bamboo in black and white is very smudged, resulting in a lack of detail.

Every single paper has different qualities and different faults. My personal favourite is the Photo Rag Baryta, but that's my opinion. Everyone will have their own opinions on these papers and all these papers are great when used for the right prints.

Unit 23 - Task 1 - Abstract Imagery

These are some images I submitted for my Experimental Photography brief. Using my Canon 550D and my standard 18-55mm IS lens, I took photographs with a shutter speed of 1 second. During that second, I zoomed out and this is the result.

A Gerbera

My Grandson

Pieces of Fruit

A Rose

A Fish Tank Ornament

As you can see, zooming out while taking a photograph can create a great abstract effect. It's almost like rays of sun or even like travelling at warp speed! I was quite surprised by some of the results. A pretty simple technique with a great outcome.

Unit 23 - Task 1 - Historical Process - Cyanotype

Historical processes, there's plenty of them. One of my favourites is the Cyanotype. The process starts by mixing equal amounts of Potassium Ferricyanide and Ferric Ammonium Citrate. This photosensitive mixture is then applied onto paper or cloth and allowed to dry in a dark space. As long as the surface is able to soak up the solution, a Cyanotype can be printed on any surface. Watercolour paper is the most common material used for this process though.

I decided to use the following image to create a Cyanotype from.

By letting ultraviolet light, such as sunlight, pass through a contact negative a positive image can be created on the chosen surface. So I attached the negative on top of the paper I used for this. This is what the image looks like when it's turned into a negative.

When you leave it in the sun, the surface with its solution soaked in, will turn a grey/blue colour because of a chemical reaction caused by the solution. In this case, the surface was only exposed for about 10 minutes, which was enough. After this, it's time to develop the Cyanotype. This is done by rinsing the surface with water, which rinses off the yellow unreacted iron solution. Although the blue colour darkens during the drying process, it can also be accelerated by soaking the paper in a solution of Hydrogen Peroxide. After which you'd rinse it once more.

All that's left now is to leave the print to dry and the Cyanotype is finished. Here is the result I got.

SEE SKETCHBOOK FOR FINISHED IMAGE

I really love this process. It's great to see your surface react to the sunlight and simply not knowing exactly what the finished product will be. An awesome print in about half an hour work. Great stuff!

Unit 27 - Digital Montage - Research - Mister Koppa

Mister Michael David Jerome Hoffmann Koppa, or Mister Koppa for short, is an American artist born in Wisconsin USA in 1969.

As you can see, some of his work consists out of a full background image with several layers on top of it. This is kind of what I used in my own montages. It's a simple but very effective technique.

"Born with a nostalgic heart, I am attracted to commercially printed images predating the Atari 2600. Through the free association of images representing a century of human history, I stumble upon relationships I find to be interesting, intriguing, ironic, or just plain funny. These relationships may mean something or nothing at all, but always satisfy my craving for amusement."

It is this quote from the artist's website I tried to, kind of, apply in my own work. Having these little relationships between things. In my case, the little people and the scanned text.

Seeing as montages aren't really my thing, I find it hard to understand some if not all. However, I do appreciate the work that has gone into making them and the techniques that are used. Koppa's work, to me personally, doesn't mean anything. Yet I quite like some of the things that go on in his images. And sometimes, the longer you look the more you will see.


Resources:

http://misterkoppa.com

Unit 27 - Digital Montage - Research - Axel Saffran

Axel Saffran is a Dutch artist. He uses his computer to create surrealistic photomontages. Below is an image from his 'Turning' collection from 2009.

From what I can figure out myself, the original image is that of an apple. This seems to have been layered with a wall type texture and several birds. He then used a sky and other birds to complete it.

I love this. This is really cool. It is almost like another planet or even Star Wars' Death Star (Yes, perhaps I show my inner nerd here).

Saffran also creates montages based on the elements, earth, wind, fire and air. Below is an image he created for the element of air.

He has taken lots of different photographs of skies and layered them in a David Hockney way to create a whole new image. To me, it looks like a whole new round cloud. I really quite like this, because the longer you look at it, the more you see.

I'm not sure whether I will use anything like this in my own montage, seeing as my idea is totally different. But it's been interesting to see.


Image Resources:

http://www.axelsaffran.com/

Unit 27 - Digital Montage - Research - Lee Muslin

Lee Muslin is an American artist. She studied fine art at the University of Delaware, where she took courses in painting, drawing and printmaking. It was also where she took her first photography course.

At the age of 20, she continued with her photography. When she attended Parsons School of Design to earn a degree in photography, she discovered digital imaging. Since then she has used her computer as a paintbrush to travel beyond the limits of reality.

I rather like some of her work, such as the above. Creating imaginary landscapes by layering different images is a very cool thing to do in my eyes. It gives you the opportunity to almost search for an Utopia. What I like about this image is the fact that it's very well layered. A lot of montages look very stuck on and you can easily tell it was cut and pasted.


Image Resource:

http://www.fineartamerica.com

Unit 27 - Digital Montage

 The Plan

As soon as I read the topics and saw that 'A personal response to a political issue' was one, I had made up my mind. As people may know from my previous posts, I am a registered disabled. Disabled people can, if they apply for it, receive a benefit called DLA (Disability Living Allowance). The government has announced that between 2013 and 2018, everyone receiving this benefit will have to be reassessed. The new benefit is called PIP and anyone that qualifies after the reassessment will receive this benefit instead. This means some people, depending on the outcome, will lose their benefit and anything attached to this.

Now, personally, I think it's a good idea. Simply because everyone gets reassessed and any frauds will lose the benefit. Unfortunately, as we've seen a few times before, these reassessments could also mean that some people who do deserve it could lose their money because of perhaps harsher guidelines.

So to me, that brought up the question: "DLA to PIP... How much should this worry me?" and that is exactly what I have used in my montage.

What did I do to create my montage?

For starters, I imported the image I used for my documentary brief of me with my walking frame and reduced the opacity to around 75% in Adobe Photoshop. I then scanned in 4 pieces of text that I ripped out of a brochure about the issue. I scanned them at 300dpi, just in case the image needs printing at any stage. I made sure the objects were flat on the scanner, therefore avoiding any issues with the quality of the scan. I then imported them into Photoshop, cut them out individually using the and layered them over my background image. To make it all look a bit better, I added some shadow to the text parts. Next, I used images of people in wheelchairs and with walking frames and cut them away from their backgrounds in Photoshop. After I cut them out, I re-sized them and moved them on top of all the bits of text. This makes it look as though they're walking and rolling across my text. To finish my image, the only thing left was to add my personal statement/question: "DLA to PIP... How much should this worry me?". I positioned the text on the top and bottom of the image, making it look like a protest banner. Again, I added a little bit of shadow to make it look better.

The Result

Alternative Options

Now the image above was pretty much what I had in my mind when I set out to create the montage. Because of my experience in Photoshop I didn't have any problems creating this image. However, because of went straight for the idea that was in my mind, I didn't really experiment with other options and versions. So in this part, I had a play around with it to see what other versions I could come up with. Different effects, colours and things like that.

On the next image, I changed the colour of the written text by using a red gradient. I also changed the I then duplicated the layers and re-sized and skewed them in order to create a shadow that falls onto the background and is attached to the letters, rather than a loose one. I then changed the colour to black. Next, I removed the shadows on the scanned pieces and instead went with a different contour to create the ribbed edges and then added a red gradient to match the colours.

Now personally I like both version, each for different reasons. The first one is calm. It brings my message across without being 'in your face'. However, the second one is great because of the effects and because it almost screams my message. They both work, but in different circumstances. The first image is more of a brochure image, whereas the second one is more of a protest image. Just shows what making a few tiny adjustments can do to an image.


Image Sources:

http://gwsaguelph.blogspot.co.uk/2012_06_01_archive.html
http://www.handicapablemedia.org
http://www.hunarch.com.au/IndVehsPlot1.htm
http://www.allardycehealthcare.co.uk

Developing Own Interpersonal Skills (Open Awards Ref:Y5004770 Level2)

Task 1 LOs 1.1:

Strengths and Weaknesses

After the group discussion about personal strengths and weaknesses and how they are important to our future write here what you think are your strengths and weaknesses and how you can use them in your career/educational pathway

I think my strenghts are:

• Punctuality
• Determination
• Commitment
• Helpfulness
• Inquisitiveness
• Time management

I think my weaknesses are:

• Worrying
• Short tempered
• My health
• Stressing
• Time management

I always do my best to be on time with everything, whether that is arriving somewhere on time or handing projects in on time. I'm always willing to help people and am always willing to learn new things myself too.

My health is my biggest weakness. It stops me from doing things a lot of the time, but it never stops me trying. This is where the commitment and determination kicks in. I tend to procrastinate a lot, which means I'll start projects too late. This in turn causes me to worry and stress. However, I usually manage to finish everything on time and none of the worrying was needed.

Task 2 LOs 2.1:

Time Management

a) After the group discussion write here why time management is important.

Time management is important, because it helps you plan anything, from projects to life in general. Having a good sense of time management will help you do the following things:

• Prioritise correctly
• Setting certain times and goals (targets) and getting things done on time
• Meeting deadlines. This is important, because you're responsible for your own reputation, but also for reputations of any of your clients.
• Start on time and be organised. Doing this will in turn mean less stress.

b) On a scale of 1-10 (1 being really bad never ever been on time for anything ever!!) mark  on the scale of where you think you are for your own time management

8.5

C) Describe here how you can improve your time management skills.

I should start projects earlier. I sometimes leave it too long and then I'm worrying and stressing, because I'm scared I won't finish on time. However, this never happens and any projects are usually finished on time. Perhaps that's why I keep doing it. Another thing I should do is use a list or diary to keep track of where I am with projects. This would make sure I got it planned properly and start on time. Often tho, the reason for my time management not being right is my health. Unfortunately, this is out of my control.

Stress

Symptoms Of Stress

Cognitive

• Worrying
• Poor judgment
• Inability to concentrate
• Negative views
• Memory issues
• Lack of motivation
• Anxiety

Behavioural

• Cigarettes/Drugs
• Nervous habits
• Isolation
• Procrastinating

Emotional

• Depression
• Irritability
• Isolation
• Feeling overwhelmed
• Mood swings
• Inability to relax

Physical

• Crying
• Aches and pains
• Sleeping too much/little
• Eating too much/little
• Nausea
• Diarrhoea or constipation
• Frequent colds
• Lack of sex drive

Task 3 LOs 3.1:

After the group discussion write here the strategies that you would use for coping with stress:

The first thing I would do is figure out what is causing the stress. If it's something that can easily be avoided, that's what I would do. Another important thing to battle stress with is fun. Simply taking time out to enjoy life and not having to worry about anything.

Critisism

Task 4 LO 4.1

Name here different types of critisism:

• Constructive
• Negative
• Passive
• Destructive
• Requested

Task 5 LO 4.1:

Write here how you would deal with critisism

Receiving critisism can sometimes hurt. However, I always try and turn any sort of critisim into constructive critisism and find a way to use it to improve myself. I take notice, take it on the chin and try and improve my work.

Confidence

Task 6 LO 5.1

Describe here situations where you have been confident or seen other people acting in a confident manner. Ensure that you describe the behaviour that you have seen and what made you think that you or the other person was confident.

I remember conducting a job interview myself at the company I worked for at the time. The person that wanted the job was confident and so was I. You could tell because we were both calm and comfortable. Neither of us were slouched in our chair or anything like that. His answer were quick and to the point. It just oozed confidence. Sometimes you get people that act very nervous. They stutter when answering questions. Sometimes they sweat or fiddle with their hands etc. Nothing like that was seen on either side. Two confident people in a job interview.

Body Language

Use this space to write down your thoughts from the discussion

Most of the different types of body language are probably already known by most people. The fact that crossing your arms can mean that you're closing yourself off, have a negative or critical viewpoint or that perhaps you're simply feeling cold are all things that are pretty common knowledge already.

Another example, biting fingernails, is another one we all probably know. It often means that the person is nervous or that it's simply habit.

I feel most people are familiar with these types of body language and would have no problem recognising this in other people too.

Task 7 LO 6.1

Based on the discussion and your own personal experience describe here the differences in positive and negative body language and explain why they would apply in a real life situation.

I would have to refer back to that job interview I mentioned in the confidence part. The fact that the candidate wasn't slouched in his chair, didn't fiddle with his fingers or checked his watch every fifteen seconds is a good example of good body language. It simply looked like he was eager and confident, which in the end was part of why he got the job. 

If someone would've come in, with his hood up and slouched in the chair, it simply wouldn't have worked. He would never have gotten the job. And that just shows, because that person could be a very skilled and friendly person. Body language dictates how people view you.

Appropriate Behaviour

Task 8 LO 7.1

Describe here how you would respond to: Agressive, passive or assertive behaviour. Give examples of real situations if you can or describe how you think you would respond.

Aggressive

Having the experience as a football supporter, I have many examples where people have been aggressive towards me. In those situations I usually respond with the same aggression. However, other times I deal with aggression in a really calm way. Only last night for example, there was someone playing unbelievably loud music at 4am from his house. He turned out to be a drug user and when I confronted him about his behaviour he started getting nasty with me. I simply stayed calm, reminded him to keep the music down and that everything would be fine if he did. I have to be honest tho, I don't know how I would've responsed if he had started the music again.

Passive

I absolutely loathe passive behaviour. I simply don't see the point in pretending to be all calm when something annoys me. Or to simply let everyone walk over me because I'm too scared to stand up for myself. That's just not me. I would most likely tell someone to get a backbone and stand up for themselves. Even if it means it's against myself.

Assertive

There are simply too many situations where I've encountered this behaviour. To be honest, this is the one I respect most. People that say it as it is, without being aggressive about it. However, not many people know how to respond to this properly. Most people will respond in either an aggressive or passive way. I would simply take the message on board and move on with my life. If someone says no, it's no.

Music Photography - Interpret A Piece Of Music Through A Photograph

For this task, we were ask to take a piece of music that we like and to take a photograph that shows what it means to us.

My choice was Butterfly Kisses by Michael Bolton.

The song is about someone's daughter growing up and all the changes that come with that. Going from dolls, to makeup, to getting married and becoming a proper woman.

So I chose this song because it has always reminded me of my daughter and obviously therefore decided to get my daughter to pose for the photograph. I added a dual process effect to give it what, to me personally, gives it a 'summer's day memory' feel. The reason for that is because that is how my daughter appears in my thoughts.

Even before I had a daughter I already wondered how hard it must be for dads, because I think for any dad the thought of your little girl growing up into a mature woman is a scary one. I'm pretty sure almost every dad wishes their daughters would stay little and depending on us forever. The thought of my daughter perhaps becoming embarrassed to be seen with me by her friends when she's a teenager, or perhaps even more so the thought of one day some guy coming along to take her away and marry her, is a horrible prospect. It's both sad and scary.

The reason I decided to use this part of the lyrics is simply because this is the stage my little girl is at right now. At 4 years old I have recently had the pony ride experience with her and she regularly comes to me with funny looking cakes.

This song reminds me to try and make the most of the time I've got with my daughter. That I should take any minute she wants to spend with me right now, because soon she'll be all grown up and off to live her own life.